2 scores

A&P Final, 103.

Safety Quiz (Meds Publishing), 100.

That is all (woohoo!).

Teenie

Happy Tuesday!

5/27/08

This morning we took Fundamentals quiz #3. It was pretty easy. I made myself slow down and read each question at an out-loud speed so that I wouldn’t misread anything; on the last quiz I missed a question that said something like “which of the following is not an appropriate intervention for…” because I read right past the “not” and chose the first appropriate intervention I saw. Pleh. So on this quiz, I got 100%. BOO YA!!1!!elebenty! No extra credit, gee darn. After the quiz we had lecture on Safety…common sense boring stuff. My lab group went second in the afternoon, so I spent 3 hours reviewing for the A&P final tomorrow. In lab, we practiced transferring patients from bed to wheelchair and back, positioning with pillows, transferring from bed to stretcher, and range-of-motion exercises. Not particularly exciting, but essential skills…and we found out that one of our group has extremely ticklish knees. After the test tomorrow, we start Pharmacology. I tried to do some pre-reading tonight and just gave myself a headache…hopefully Mrs. M. will be able to make it understandable. Until then, I’m taking a break.

Off to read some Harry Potter,

Teenie

Wait…what?

5/23/08

Okay, so I haven’t been diligent about posting to my blog. I feel kinda bad, I know there are a few people (okay, one person) that check(s) every day and I hate to disappoint them (her). This week has been exhausting, though.

Monday was A&P quiz #2, on which I got 107 (!!!) and then we covered the respiratory system. We did oxygenation last week in Fundamentals, so there wasn’t a lot of new material. The afternoon was “Story time with Mrs. S.” and was about Activity, Rest, and Sleep. Basically, lack of activity affects every body system negatively, so it’s very important to stay as active as possible. And in terms of sleep, how’s this for creepy—“Researchers reported that for 14 nights in a row, subjects slept between 4 and 6 hours per night. These same subjects showed cognitive performance equal to going without sleep for 3 days in a row, and yet the subjects did not realize the extent of their impairment (Dinges et al., 2003).” I keep telling people that sleep deprivation is cumulative but nobody believes me! Oh yeah, Monday was my first day without the Ugly Shoe. I broke my toe on 4/20 and started wearing the Ugly Shoe 4/27. My toe is still a little sore, but the bruising is nearly all gone and I can walk without limping. I’m still taping it, just to make sure I don’t mess it up again.

Tuesday was Fundamentals quiz #2—I got 93%. Better than a sharp stick in the eye. After the quiz, the whole day was about Documentation. We talked about different formats (SOAP, PIE, DAR), abbreviations, confidentiality, HIPAA, error correction, grammar (it’s important!), and all kinds of little details that are incredibly boring to talk about but incredibly important to know. We also practiced documenting in a couple formats and did a computer tutorial (yawn). Any time we meet in the computer lab I want extra coffee…but food and drink are not allowed in the computer lab. Pleh.

Wednesday morning was A&P, covering the urinary system and fluid and electrolyte balance. I’ve been making sure to read the chapters before class, so A&P lectures are mostly finding out what the instructor wants me to know. I’m starting to get annoyed with some of my classmates—during lecture is not the time to have personal conversations. I think I’ll leave it at that. Wednesday afternoon we started learning the nursing process—parts of a nursing care plan, the difference between nursing diagnoses and medical diagnoses, selecting the correct diagnosis/diagnoses for your patient, writing a diagnosis statement properly, choosing appropriate goals for the patient, and the dynamic nature of the process (the diagnosis might be appropriate today, but tomorrow there might be an entirely different set of problems). Wednesday I also started carpooling. Hooray for using less gas!

Yesterday the whole day was Fundamentals, covering Elimination. This includes both urinary and bowel elimination, oh joy. In the morning we discussed the structure and function of the GI and GU systems, and in the afternoon we had lab. This lab was entirely too much fun—we learned how to place a urinary catheter. I know, I know, that doesn’t sound like “fun” to most of you, but that’s why I’m going into nursing and you’re not. It won’t be quite as much fun when I have to catheterize a person, but working with the mannequins in lab is always good for some laughs. They’re supposed to be more or less anatomically correct, which they really aren’t, and some of them are wearing out, which leads to hilarity. “Mrs. K., what do you do if you’re placing a catheter and your patient’s entire perineal area falls off?” Then there’s all the different ways you could take the statement, “Let me see if I can find another penis so you all get a chance to practice.” And the videos…oh, the videos. They’re horrible. Not really, but they’re educational videos trying to also be entertaining, and one of the male nursing students in them is really goofy-looking. Not to mention the “patients” look WAY too happy. “Hi Mr. Stuart, I’d like to administer the high-volume cleansing enema your doctor ordered, is this a good time?” “Oh, sure. *big grin* Go ahead.” 11 nursing students all go “WTF?!?” and one of the instructors says, “Oh, come on, he’s a paid actor.” I don’t care HOW much money I’m offered, I’m not going to act excited about an enema. *shudder*

Today was a short day. We had A&P for the male and female reproductive systems. Again, not much new information. That took about 2 hours, then we reviewed for the A&P final on Wednesday. Oh yeah, we have a Fundamentals quiz on Tuesday as well. That’s been the most frustrating thing. We had A&P quiz 1 the first Friday and Fundamentals quiz 1 the following Monday; A&P quiz 2 was Monday and Fundamentals quiz 2 was Tuesday; now Fundamentals quiz 3 is Tuesday and the A&P final exam is Wednesday. In a couple weeks, we have a Pharmacology quiz in the morning and a Fundamentals quiz in the afternoon. I guess that’s to be expected in such an accelerated program, but *pouts* it’s NOT FAIR!!! There isn’t time to prepare for both quizzes when they’re so close together. Not that I’m doing horribly (giggle) but others in the class are saying things like “I was so worried about A&P that I didn’t study enough for Fundamentals,” and there were 4 people that didn’t pass the last Fundamentals quiz. TOO MUCH INFORMATION! BRAIN OVERLOAD! I’m very glad that I have 3 days off.

TGIF,

Teenie

8-9-10…where’s teh YNG when I need him?

5/16/08

The last time I wrote was Tuesday, right? *thinks hard* So on Wednesday we covered A&P chapters 13, 14, and 15—The Heart and Heart Disease, The Cardiovascular System, and The Lymphatic System. We did the group project from Tuesday, which was to draw a diagram of blood flow through the heart. I sketched a picture of the heart and lungs, then we put numbers on it and a legend showing what each number meant (1. Vena Cavae, 2. Right Atrium, 3. Tricuspid Valve, etc.). I think I enjoy playing with markers a little more than a 31-year-old should. Wednesday afternoon was SSP. I got some more practice taking blood pressures, read the material for Thursday, and got home around 3:30…then I took a nap. It was quite nice. Yesterday we did head-to-toe assessments—lecture (learning what to do) in the morning and lab (practicing and learning how to do it properly) in the afternoon. I always feel silly doing assessments and things on fellow students, because they KNOW what I’m doing and why, but I still have to explain as if they were a patient. Pleh. My lab group went second, so I had nothing to do between noon and 3 pm. I ended up going to Lowe’s and buying some pansies for the front yard, which I planted this afternoon in my topiary baskets. I actually bought too many and had to put some in a window box! This is a good problem to have. Today I didn’t have to wear my uniform to school. We did a lab on hygiene and had to give each other bed baths, so we could wear whatever as long as our arms and legs were accessible. I actually sat down and read last night’s newspaper this morning, instead of ironing uniform parts (paging teh YNG!). We watched a couple videos on how to give a bed bath, how to provide oral hygiene, and how to make an occupied bed, then paired up and did each thing. I’ve done all those things before, no problem. What I haven’t done before is be on the receiving end—it’s really strange having someone else brush your teeth. I had to tell my partner what to do next (she’d only ever brushed her own teeth) and I can only imagine how frustrating it must be for someone with communication problems to sit through it. If I hadn’t said, “I still feel some gunk on the back of my bottom teeth,” I would have gone all day feeling it with my tongue and going “EWW!” The bed bath, though, was incredibly relaxing. All I had to do was lie in the bed and get clean. Afterward I wanted to stay there and fall asleep! I didn’t, though, I went to see Grama-Grama. She said she was doing okay, but she was still in her bathrobe at noon…apparently, one of the cats has taken to sleeping on her bed, and she ‘slept funny’ a couple nights ago trying not to knock the cat off the bed, which aggravated her arthritis. So I fixed lunch and we had quite a nice conversation about cats and their various eccentricities. When I got ready to leave, around 2, Grama-Grama was going to take a nap. I’d like to take a nap, but A&P quiz #2 is on Monday and Fundamentals quiz #2 is on Tuesday. Must…study…vocab…cards!

Teenie

Day 7

5/13/08

Today was a good day. The morning was kind of strange—the schedule said we were doing chapters 11-13 of A&P, then when we got started the instructor said we were skipping chapter 12 because we needed to be in the computer lab to cover it properly, and we would do chapter 14 instead. Okay, fine, I didn’t read chapter 14 last night, but I can catch up. Then after the first hour, we got kicked out of the classroom so that someone from IT could fix the PowerPoint projector, which meant we had to meet in the computer lab…so we did chapter 12 after all. We didn’t ever get to chapter 13, chapter 14, or the ‘group project’ we were supposedly going to do before lunch. I’m not complaining, but when I’m doing my darnedest to be prepared for class, I like the schedule to be accurate. The afternoon Fundamentals lecture was on oxygenation. A little physiology, a little chemistry, and a presentation by a durable-medical-equipment company rep. We got to look at/play with/ask questions about a lot of different oxygen equipment, including a newer system that uses LIQUID oxygen and can provide 8 hours of use in a 5 pound tank. The technology is just amazing. Tomorrow we have more A&P, then SSP in the afternoon. I’m hoping to get some more practice doing vital signs, and maybe some practice with the Meds Publishing program (NCLEX-style questions on current course content, all online). Right now I’m going to bed.

‘Til tomorrow,

Teenie

@$%#& traffic!

5/12/08

This morning, it took me 40 minutes to get from my house to the expressway. This meant that I was 15 minutes late for class and locked out for the first hour. Unfortunately, our first Nursing Fundamentals quiz was this morning. School policy is that if you don’t take a quiz (or turn in an assignment) on time, you lose 5% off your score, and another 5% for each additional day. Since I wasn’t there at 8:00, the highest score I could get was 95%…I stayed after lab to take the quiz and ended up with a 94%. Woohoo! The morning lecture was on vital signs—how they can provide information about body function, how each sign is measured (degrees, beats per minute, etc.), and the importance of proper documentation. After lunch was lab, where we learned how to take vital signs. It was review for most of us, but practice is always good. It was also very noisy in the lab, which led to difficulty in hearing blood pressures. Oh well. I’ll get more practice during SSP (Student Success Program; basically open lab and faculty advising) on Wednesday. Tomorrow I’m going to get up half an hour earlier and try a different route to school.

Hating construction season,

Teenie

Kermie arms!

Just dropping in for a second to say, I got a 104 on my A&P quiz. It was 50 questions with 3 extra credit (student-written) questions, so I missed ONE somewhere. \o/

Smelling like dog and feeling good

5/8/08

This morning we had a class on “study skills and time management”. It was kinda stupid but fun; took a couple quizzes and found out I suck at time management (DUH!), did some group activities/games, and laughed a lot. Then we had medical terminology. Easier than pie. After lunch was more Fundamentals, covering the text chapters “Sensory Perception” and “Comfort” which was mostly about pain management. Not all that exciting, but the instructor has lots of interesting stories and often goes off on tangents while giving real-life examples. Her lessons could easily be called “Story Time With Mrs. S.”

On my lunch break I went to my parents’ house to see Alesis. When I walked in the door she was lying on her doggy bed in the dining room, waiting to see who was coming in. Her buddy Missy (another Big Black Dog) took care of the running-to-the-door-barking bit for her. Once Alesis realized it was somebody she knew coming in, she got up and came to the door. I petted both of them, then said hello to Grama-Grama (my grandmother—called Grama-Grama by my nephews to distinguish her from my mom, THEIR grandma) and started to get down on my knees to talk to Alesis. She realized I was going to play with her, and KNOCKED ME OVER! There I was, flat on my butt with Alesis trying to climb in my lap while licking my face, and Missy trying to see what Alesis was doing (also getting in my lap in the process), and Grama-Grama looked down at me and laughed. She said “You’d never know that dog is sick, by watching her! She’s still so full of pep and so interested in everything.” Grama-Grama is right; Alesis doesn’t seem to realize she’s old and sick. All she notices is that it takes her longer to go up and down stairs (due to arthritis). So I sat on the floor and let the dogs climb all over me for a bit. I went back to school with black fur all over my uniform, smelling a bit like dog, and feeling fantastic. Some part of my mind knows that Alesis is not long for this world, but she’s still enjoying life and that’s what I’m going to focus on.

Tomorrow we have our first A&P quiz. Wish me luck!

Hopeful,

Teenie

Asepsis

5/7/08

Today was awesome. The morning class was Fundamentals again, and the lecture was on Asepsis—the differences between medical asepsis (clean technique) and surgical asepsis (sterile technique), hand washing, types of microorganisms, hand washing, nosocomial infections, hand washing, standard precautions, hand washing, the ‘chain of infection’, hand washing, personal protective equipment, and hand washing. This afternoon was the first lab class, during which we learned how to put on and take off sterile gloves, masks, goggles, and gowns. We also practiced…wait for it…hand washing! Most of these things I already knew, but I’m trying to take in as much as I can and look at things as if they’re brand new to me. When I was in the GRCC nursing program, I was doing what I’ve always done in school—putting forth the least possible effort required to skate by. In retrospect, I’m glad my clinical instructor failed me. When you’re dealing with people’s lives, you CAN’T just skate by, and I needed to learn that. I think I’ve studied more in the last 3 days than I did in 3 weeks of school before.

In other news, Alesis has bladder cancer. http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_transitional_cell_carcinoma.html

The vet says she has about 2 months left without surgery, 4 months with. She will not be having surgery. She IS now on Piroxicam, an anti-inflammatory that also has anti-tumor effects, so she might improve some. I’m keeping in mind that she’s 12 years old, and that’s a pretty darned good life for a dog. I’m also going to visit her after class tomorrow. I’m planning to sit on the floor so she can curl up in my lap for a while—when I first got her, she was about 4 weeks old (yes, I know, too young to leave momma dog, but that decision was made before I met her…my then-boyfriend’s brother was feeding her beer…rage building…deep breath…okay!) and could curl up in my hands. She weighs about 45 pounds, but she still thinks she’s tiny sometimes. Silly puppy.

Tired,

Teenie

Day 2

5/06/08

Today was better. It was a more ‘normal’ day, I guess. The morning class was Nursing Fundamentals. Today it included the history of nursing as a profession, health care systems (hospitals, primary care centers, long term care, etc), and a little bit about leadership. Lots of talk about ‘you’ll hear more about this in Level III but here’s a general overview’. At lunch time I walked over to Meijer; I drank my soda at midmorning break because I was feeling so tired and I needed to get another one. Note to self: bring 2 sodas tomorrow. While I was at Meijer I got a call from my mom. She took my dog, Alesis, to the vet yesterday because she (Alesis) has blood in her urine. They didn’t find anything wrong with her kidneys or bladder on x-ray, but as it happened her hips were visible and she has almost no hip joint left. Poor old girl. She’s had arthritis for a while now and it’s not really surprising, seeing as she’s turning 12 this month. Anyway, she goes back to the vet for an ultrasound tomorrow to figure out what happens next. Back to school. The afternoon class was more A&P, which included a lot more of ‘you’ll learn this in Level II-III but right now you just need to know the function of this (organ, system, whatever)’. We got quite a few study guide sheets today, which makes me feel a lot better. If something’s not on the study guide I don’t necessarily need to SQ3R it or make a vocab card, just read it once and maybe go back to it when I get done with the stuff that is on the sheet. Only one chapter to read for tomorrow, and I got it done about an hour ago (including vocab cards), so now I’m watching the Tigers play the Red Sox. Not a great game, but it’s relaxing nonetheless.

Slightly less whelmed,

Teenie